More than two-thirds (69%) of the 202,000 Australians who completed Year 12 in 1999 were attending tertiary education institutions in May 2000, an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey has shown.Of these, 63% (88,400) were in higher education.

Nearly 2.3 million people aged 15 to 64 years were enrolled to study in some form of education in May 2000, representing 18% of the population in this age group, and approximately the same number as were enrolled in May 1999. Over 90% of students in May 2000 were studying for a recognised education qualification. More than half (58%) of all students were employed, with a further 7% unemployed.

Almost half (48%) of the 1.6 million tertiary students in May 2000 were aged 25 to 64, with females outnumbering males (828,800 compared with 741,200).

The survey found that 5.5 million people aged 15 to 64 had recognised post-school qualifications, which is 86,800 more than in May 1999. Over 2.5 million people had vocational qualifications, such as a trade, while a further 2 million had a Bachelor degree or higher qualification. The remaining 1 million people had Undergraduate or Associate diplomas.

There were 138,200 apprentices in May 2000, an increase of 4.5% since May 1999. At the time of the survey, 52% of apprentices were aged between 15 and 19 years.

Further details are available in Transition from Education to Work, Australia, May 2000(cat. no. 6227.0) available from ABS Bookshopsin all capital cities. This media release and a summary of findings are available on this site. If you wish to purchase a copy of this publication contact the ABS bookshop in your capital city.